Technological Forecasting and Social Change: Scopus, Scope & Submission Guide

Quick Answer: What Is Technological Forecasting and Social Change?

Technological Forecasting and Social Change is a peer-reviewed Elsevier journal that publishes research on technological change and its interaction with organisations, economies, policy, society and the environment. The publisher presents the journal as a forum for technological forecasting, future-oriented analysis and related work that can inform planning and decision-making.

The journal is indexed in Scopus; the journal record supplied for this guide identifies Scopus Source ID 14704. Elsevier’s current ScienceDirect journal pages also list indexing in the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) and the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) list. Researchers should still check their university, funder or promotion rules because an institution may require a particular database, quartile, category or reporting year.

TFSC may be relevant for research on innovation, foresight, technology management, digital transformation, sustainability transitions, emerging technologies, entrepreneurial ecosystems and policy or societal consequences of technological change. A manuscript that treats technology only as background, or focuses solely on social change without a substantive technology-related contribution, may be a weaker fit.

Key Takeaways for Authors

• Publisher: Elsevier; print ISSN 0040-1625 and online ISSN 1873-5509.
• Scopus: indexed; the supplied Scopus Source ID is 14704.
• Current displayed metrics: ScienceDirect pages checked on 10 August 2026 display a CiteScore of 30.5 and an Impact Factor of 13.5. Metric values can change between reporting cycles.
• Peer review: the current Guide for Authors states that the journal uses double-anonymized peer review.
• Publishing model: hybrid. The publisher currently offers open access for an APC of USD 4,750 excluding taxes, while the subscription route states that no publication fee is charged to authors.
• Submission preparation: current author guidance includes a concise factual abstract of no more than 250 words and 3–5 highlights, each no more than 85 characters including spaces.
• Fit matters: technology should be integral to the research question and contribution, not added only to make an otherwise unrelated paper appear relevant.

Journal Information at a Glance

What This Journal Guide Covers

• the journal’s aims, scope and research orientation;
• Scopus and other publisher-listed indexing information;
• currently displayed citation metrics and how to interpret them cautiously;
• article and manuscript expectations visible in the author guidance;
• submission, editorial screening and double-anonymized peer review;
• open-access and subscription publishing options and current APC information;
• ethical and practical publication-readiness checks; and
• how to decide whether a manuscript is genuinely aligned with TFSC.

Methodology and Sources Used for This Profile

This profile was prepared by prioritising the journal’s official ScienceDirect pages, Elsevier’s current Guide for Authors, the journal’s editorial-board and open-access information, and the supplied Scopus Source ID. The article paraphrases journal-specific requirements rather than reproducing long passages from publisher pages.

Journal metrics, article-processing charges, editorial teams, indexing coverage and publishing timelines can change. Authors should therefore reconfirm time-sensitive details on the official Journal Insights page, the Guide for Authors and the relevant indexing database immediately before submission or institutional reporting.

What Does Technological Forecasting and Social Change Aim to Publish?

The journal’s official scope centres on technology and on the ways technological development can be anticipated, managed, evaluated and connected to social, organisational, economic, environmental and policy change. Forecasting and futures-oriented approaches are important because the journal is interested not only in what technologies exist, but also in trajectories, consequences, choices, uncertainty and decision-making.

For authors, that scope has an important implication: a strong TFSC manuscript normally needs a clear technology-related phenomenon and a contribution that extends understanding beyond a descriptive account. Depending on the study, that contribution may be theoretical, empirical, methodological or practice-oriented. The journal’s current scope text also signals interest in work that has implications for decision-makers, managers, institutions and policy actors.

Topics commonly compatible with this orientation can include technological forecasting and foresight; innovation and technology management; adoption and diffusion of emerging technologies; digital transformation; artificial intelligence and automation; entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems; sustainability transitions; policy and governance of technology; societal and labour-market implications of technological change; strategic responses to uncertainty; and methodological advances that improve how technology-related futures are studied.

Editorial interpretation: a manuscript may be more persuasive when it explains why the technology-related phenomenon matters, what gap in current scholarship is being addressed, why the chosen data or method can answer the research question, and how the findings alter theory, forecasting practice, management or policy. These are fit considerations rather than a promise that a manuscript will pass editorial screening.

Which Research Topics Are Likely to Fit — and Which Need Caution?

As a practical publication-readiness step, compare the manuscript with several recent TFSC articles that use related theory, methods or phenomena. This is not an official requirement, but it helps reveal whether the paper speaks to the journal’s current scholarly conversation rather than merely sharing a broad keyword.

Is Technological Forecasting and Social Change Indexed in Scopus?

Yes. Elsevier’s journal information lists Scopus among the journal’s abstracting and indexing services, and the supplied journal record identifies Scopus Source ID 14704. The publisher also lists SSCI and ABDC among the journal’s indexing or recognition information.

Scopus indexing does not by itself answer every institutional question. A university may require a journal to be active in a specified year, appear within a certain subject category, meet a particular quartile threshold, or satisfy separate faculty rules. Researchers using the journal for PhD, promotion or funding purposes should open the current Scopus source profile and verify coverage, status, category and the metric year required by their institution.

Current Journal Metrics: CiteScore, Impact Factor and Quartile Checks

ScienceDirect pages checked on 10 August 2026 display a CiteScore of 30.5 and an Impact Factor of 13.5 for TFSC. These figures are publisher-displayed metrics and should be cited together with their applicable reporting context when used in a formal evaluation.

This page does not reproduce a current SJR, SNIP or quartile because a current value and reporting-year/category context were not independently verified from the applicable authoritative database during preparation. Quartile labels can also differ by database, category and year. Authors should therefore verify the latest value in Scopus/SCImago or the database their institution explicitly recognises instead of relying on an undated search-result snippet or third-party ranking page.

What Types of Articles Does the Journal Publish?

Current ScienceDirect issues are dominated by papers labelled Research article, and the journal also publishes themed special issues and article collections. Historical issues show that other editorial content types have appeared, but authors should not assume that every historical category remains open for unsolicited submission.

Before preparing a non-standard manuscript type, check the current “Article types” section in the Guide for Authors and any active call for papers. For a standard research article, the central expectations are a journal-aligned question, transparent methods, credible analysis, a clear contribution and compliance with the journal’s submission files and declarations.

Manuscript Requirements to Check Before Submission

The journal’s current Guide for Authors should be treated as the controlling source because requirements can change. Important items visible in the current guidance include:

• a concise and factual abstract of no more than 250 words;
• 3–5 highlights, with each highlight limited to 85 characters including spaces;
• submission files prepared in an editable format according to Elsevier’s instructions;
• materials arranged for double-anonymized review, so identifying information should be handled as instructed by the journal;
• accurate author information, affiliations and contributor roles, including use of the CRediT taxonomy where requested;
• complete funding, competing-interest, data and ethics declarations where applicable; and
• references, tables, figures and supplementary material checked for completeness and consistency.

Authors should also verify whether their specific study requires ethics approval, informed consent, permissions, a data-availability statement or specialist reporting guidance. These requirements depend on the research design and are not identical for every manuscript.

How the Submission and Peer-Review Process Works

Elsevier directs authors to the journal’s online submission system from the official journal and Guide for Authors pages. During submission, authors should follow the portal prompts for manuscript files, author details, declarations, classifications and any cover-letter or suggested-reviewer fields that are currently requested.

The journal states that it uses a double-anonymized review process: reviewer identities are concealed from authors and author identities are concealed from reviewers. That makes file preparation especially important. Names, affiliations, acknowledgements and other identifying details should be placed only where the journal instructs rather than embedded unintentionally in the anonymized manuscript.

Editorial screening precedes external review. A paper can be declined before peer review if it is outside scope, lacks sufficient contribution, does not meet basic quality or ethical requirements, or is otherwise unsuitable for the journal. If the paper proceeds to review, reviewers assess the scholarship and the editor makes the publication decision. Revision does not guarantee acceptance.

How Long Can Review and Publication Take?

Elsevier’s Journal Insights page checked on 10 August 2026 displays publisher-reported timeline statistics of 16 days from submission to first decision, 126 days from submission to decision after review, 337 days from submission to acceptance, and 11 days from acceptance to online publication.

These are journal-level statistics, not guaranteed deadlines for an individual manuscript. A paper’s timing can vary because of editorial screening, reviewer availability, number and complexity of revision rounds, author response time and production requirements. Authors should use the current Journal Insights page for the latest values rather than planning around a fixed promise.

Open Access, Subscription Publishing and the Current APC

TFSC operates a hybrid publishing model. The publisher currently offers an open-access route and a subscription route. When checked on 10 August 2026, the official journal page displayed an open-access Article Publishing Charge of USD 4,750 excluding taxes, with a note that the amount may be reduced during submission when applicable.

For the subscription route, Elsevier states that no publication fee is charged to authors and the published article is available to subscribers. Open-access licences and self-archiving conditions are governed by the publisher’s current policy; authors should review the official open-access options before choosing a route.

Do not treat the APC listed here as permanent. Funding agreements, institutional arrangements, taxes, waivers or reductions may affect the amount presented to an eligible author, and Elsevier may revise the base APC.

Publication Ethics and Responsible Manuscript Preparation

Authors are expected to comply with Elsevier’s publishing-ethics policies and the declarations requested by the journal. In practical terms, that means the manuscript should represent original work, cite sources accurately, avoid duplicate or redundant publication, identify genuine authorship contributions, disclose relevant conflicts and funding, and obtain necessary ethics approvals, consent or permissions for the research and materials involved.

Researchers should also follow the journal and publisher’s current policy on generative AI and AI-assisted technologies. AI tools should not be listed as authors, and any required disclosure of AI-assisted writing or other use should be made in the form requested by the publisher. Authors remain responsible for the accuracy, originality, citations, confidentiality and integrity of the submitted work.

For current policy language, consult Elsevier’s publishing ethics and standards together with the journal-specific Guide for Authors.

Common Reasons a Manuscript May Be a Poor Fit

• Technology is incidental: the manuscript uses a digital or technological setting but the research question could be asked unchanged without it.
• Only social change is studied: the paper does not develop a substantive link to technology, technological development or a technology-related future.
• Contribution is unclear: results are reported without explaining what they add to theory, evidence, forecasting, management or policy.
• The method does not support the claim: data, sampling, model design or qualitative procedures are insufficiently transparent or aligned with the research question.
• The introduction overstates novelty: recent TFSC and adjacent literature are not engaged deeply enough to establish the gap.
• Submission files are inconsistent: anonymization, author details, highlights, declarations, figures, references or supplementary files do not match current instructions.
• Ethics or source integrity is weak: citations cannot be verified, permissions are missing, authorship is inappropriate or disclosures are incomplete.

A Journal-Fit and Publication-Readiness Checklist

Who Should Consider Submitting to TFSC?

The journal may be especially relevant to researchers working at the intersection of technology with innovation, management, strategy, policy, sustainability, entrepreneurship, economics or society. That includes PhD scholars and early-career researchers whose studies contribute to technology-related theory or evidence, as well as established academics and interdisciplinary teams examining technological futures and their consequences.

A high citation metric should not be the sole reason to submit. The better decision rule is whether the journal’s audience is likely to value the paper’s exact question, method and contribution. Researchers should compare their manuscript with recent articles, examine the journal’s active special issues where relevant, and confirm that institutional requirements are met before submission.

How Contentxprtz Can Support Ethical Publication Readiness

Contentxprtz can assist researchers with manuscript editing, academic proofreading, journal formatting, reference and citation checks, language polishing, manuscript assessment, journal-selection guidance, cover-letter editing, reviewer-response editing and publication-readiness review. Support should improve scholarly communication while preserving the researcher’s authorship, analysis, evidence and academic responsibility.

For TFSC, useful support can include checking whether the abstract and highlights meet current limits, improving the clarity of the technology-centred research gap, auditing consistency between research questions and conclusions, checking anonymization and declarations, and formatting references or submission materials against the current author instructions.

Contentxprtz does not guarantee journal acceptance, peer-review success, indexing outcomes or publication. Editorial decisions remain entirely with the journal and publisher.

Final Decision: Is This the Right Journal for Your Manuscript?

TFSC is a strong candidate when a manuscript has a genuine technology-centred research problem, a clear contribution, credible evidence and relevance to readers interested in forecasting, innovation, management and the broader consequences of technological change. Scopus indexing and high publisher-displayed citation metrics can make the journal visible, but they do not replace the need for precise scope alignment.

Before submitting, reconfirm the current Guide for Authors, indexing status, metrics, APC and any special-issue instructions; then inspect the manuscript from an editor’s perspective. If the title, abstract and introduction make the technology-related contribution immediately understandable, the method supports the claims, and the discussion shows why the findings matter to the journal’s community, the manuscript is in a better position to enter editorial evaluation. No readiness checklist can guarantee acceptance, but it can reduce avoidable mismatch and technical errors.